Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, November 29, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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One-Syllable AdverbsOne-syllable adverbs are formed into comparatives by adding the suffix "-er" to the end of the word. What suffix is added to create the superlative form? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Giant ClamAlso known as the bear's paw clam, Tridacna gigas is the largest bivalve mollusk in the world. Found in the South Pacific and Indian oceans, especially in the Great Barrier Reef, the giant clam can weigh more than 500 lb (225 kg) and grow to more than 4 ft (120 cm) in length. The clams are a source of food for people of the South Pacific and have also been harvested for their huge shells. Why are stories of people being trapped within giant clams unlikely to be true? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Natalie Wood Drowns (1981)At the age of 43, actress Natalie Wood, who first won acclaim as a child for her role in Miracle on 34th Street and went on to become a successful film star, drowned after apparently falling overboard following a night of drinking on her yacht. Though the death was ruled an accident, a woman on a nearby boat reported hearing cries for help that night. Wood had been spending a holiday weekend aboard the yacht with her husband, actor Robert Wagner. Who else was aboard the yacht that night? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mildred Gillars, AKA Axis Sally (1900)Mildred Sisk was born in Portland, Maine, but went to Europe in the 1920s, changed her name, and by 1934 was an English-language radio broadcaster in Berlin. During World War II, she broadcast Nazi propaganda aimed to demoralize American troops, who nicknamed her "Axis Sally." On the radio, Gillars emphasized the infidelity of soldiers' wives and sweethearts while they were overseas. She was convicted of treason in 1949 and spent 12 years in prison. What did she do after she was released? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Live all you can - it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that, what have you had?Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be the business— To be exceptionally great, excellent, high-quality, or skillful. Primarily heard in UK, Ireland. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Andrew's Eve (2025)The eve of St. Andrew's Day is a special night for young Polish girls who want to find husbands. They play Andrzejki, or "Andrew's games," a kind of fortune telling. They break off dry branches from cherry trees, place them in wet sand, and tend them carefully for the next few weeks. If the branch blooms by Christmas, it is believed that they will marry within the year. Pouring liquid wax into cold water is another popular method of foretelling their romantic futures. The shapes formed by the hardened wax often provide clues with which they can read their fate. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: princeadmiral - First used in English to mean "an emir or prince under the Sultan," coming from Arabic amir al, "commander of"; admiral was originally a sea lord due to the office of amir-al-bahr or amir-al-ma (Arabic), "ameer/emir of the sea." More... prince - Derived from Latin princeps, "chief man" or "leading citizen." More... tycoon - Comes from Japanese tai, "great," and kun, "prince, lord," from Chinese da, "great," and jun, "prince, ruler." More... whipping boy - Meaning "scapegoat," the phrase derives from the boy formerly raised with a prince or other young nobleman and whipped for the latter's misdeeds. More... | |